Cane Blinds Pull Across The Glass Roof Of This Sunroom To Cut Out The Brightest Light And Make The Room

Home library of the late Richard Macksey, legendary Hopkins prof.

in the lane

bakugou x reader wc: 1.7k cw: christmas fluff, regular fluff, implied heavy petting

You lazily tug your boots off and leave them in a heap next to the couch in the foyer of the Dynamight agency. You're the only person here on Christmas Eve, everyone else having gone home to trade in their hero names for names like "Mom" and "Dad" and "Rich Wine Aunt." 

Being alone on Christmas isn't so bad, really. You finally get one quiet night to yourself. Sure, you were on call to respond to any emergencies, but it seemed even villains took a holiday break, as you'd covered the Christmas graveyard shift three years in a row and never had to so much as stop a purse-snatcher or get a cat out of a tree. 

There's a huge Christmas tree set up in the main lobby, at least 15 feet tall with green and orange ornaments hung in alternating patterns. You pass it on your way to the kitchen to grab some snacks and a bottle of sparkling grape juice. You pop the bottle, letting the foam drip into the sink, before pouring yourself a glass and then heading back to the seating area in the foyer. 

The heavier accessories for your hero costume lie on one couch, and a mountain of blankets and your laptop lie on another. You curl up into a nest of blankets, positioning your phone and the police radio close to you so that you'll be quick to receive any notifications - just in case - and then open your laptop and settle in for your annual movie night. 

"Happy holidays, Dave," you say to the security camera positioned in the far corner of the room, raising your glass. The camera slowly tilts up, then down, making a mechanical whirring sound the entire time. Dave, the remote building security guard, is your annual Christmas companion. Last year you'd climbed on top of a chair and held a piece of paper with your phone number on it up to the lens, and now Dave sporadically texts you with office gossip he's privy to thanks to his position overseeing the security cameras from wherever he actually lived. 

Yeah, Dave's cool. 

You sip your non-alcoholic bubbly and start your first movie. The police radio and your phone both stay quiet and you're nearly halfway through the third movie of a high fantasy trilogy when you hear some commotion at the front door. 

The clock on the wall says it's 5am - time for the Christmas morning skeleton crew to take over. And so passes another uneventful Christmas Eve. 

Slowly, you untangle yourself from the mess of blankets and head to the door to help them in. "Dave, can you get the lights?" you call out. As the main overheads of the agency turn on, you see that it's actually only one person at the door, and it's who you'd least expect - the big man himself. Dynamight. 

"Sir?" you say tentatively, cocking your head to the side, as you open the door for your boss. 

"Thanks," he grumbles as he slips past you. 

He's in sweats, a beanie covering the mess of blonde hair on his head. Even then, he's stupidly handsome. And still impossible to figure out. 

"Is... everything okay?" you call after him.

He stops in his tracks. "What?" His voice is gruff. 

"I just--" you look away from him instinctively, even though he has his back turned towards you, "--what are you doing here?" 

"I'm the morning shift. Taking over. You can go home." 

"You're the morning shift?" 

He sighs, heavily. "Yeah, what did you expect?" 

"I don't know," you wave your hand in the air, "someone like me who doesn't have anywhere to be. Don't you have a wife and kids?" 

Now he finally turns to look at you. "No? Who the fuck told you I have a wife and kids?" 

You shrug. "I dunno, everyone in the office thinks you have a secret family." 

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Well, I don't. Now, get the hell out of here, it's a holiday" 

You turn your head slowly towards the security camera and raise your eyebrows at Dave, who you're hoping is seeing your expression from his computer screens.

Dynamight disappears into the locker room, duffel bag and gauntlets slung over his shoulder. 

Your phone buzzes against the hardwood of the table where you'd set up shop last night and you check text on your watch. 

Dave: you should make a move 

"Are you insane?" you whip your head up to glare at the lens of the camera. 

A few moments later: i see how you look at him

You scoff, rolling your eyes. "He's my boss. And he's way out of my league." 

i see how he looks at you

Your cheeks get hot. "Whatever, Dave," you mumble as you start to clean up the blankets and put away your laptop. 

"What're you still doing here?" Dynamight calls from the hallway. You open your mouth to answer, but suddenly the overhead lights shut down and the Christmas tree in the lobby lights up, starting from the bottom, until all of the connected strings illuminate the tree and leave you both in a warm yellow glow. 

You want to say something. Really, you do. But he’s walking towards you, eyebrows knitted together in confusion, the sparkling lights of the tree reflected in his irises, and your breath catches in your throat. He’s staring at you and you’re about to drown in his pupils when he breaks the silence. 

“I’ll check the breaker.” 

You nod quickly. “Sounds good.” 

Then he’s gone again. 

Childishly, you stick your tongue out at the Dave-camera before cleaning up the rest of your blanket nest. A few minutes later, the lights are back on and Dynamight returns to the lobby. 

“Go ahead,” he lifts his chin at you, “I’ll lock the door after you.”

“Where’s the rest of the morning crew?” 

He snorts. “I’m the whole crew. I can handle it on my own.” He moves towards the exit. 

“Actually,” you clear your throat, “I was wondering if you’d like some company on your patrol?” 

He quirks a brow at you. “Why?” 

“So we don’t both have to be alone on Christmas,” you answer, biting your lip. A move that, unbeknownst to you, sends Bakugou’s heart in a tailspin. 

He pauses. “Get your gear on,” he finally replies. 

The patrol, like your evening before, is uneventful. And mostly quiet. You don’t usually have this much time alone with your boss. He keeps his eyes in front of him, chin tucked into the collar of his costume, peering out at the sidewalk in front of him. Everything is closed, so there are no people or cars around. The only thing you hear is the quiet crunch of ice and snow under your boots as you walk alongside him. 

“You always take the Christmas Eve shift?” he asks you while you’re walking back towards the agency. 

You nod. “It’s kinda nice. I like being alone.” 

His expression softens, and a half-smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Me too.”

The sky transforms from a pale blue to a pinkish-orange sunrise as the patrol goes on, making the snow on the ground sparkle. 

“Why’d you take the Christmas day shift?” you ask him, turning around to walk backwards. 

“Beats bein’ home alone. Or with my parents,” he says, “and ‘s quiet. I like the quiet.”

“Me too,” you echo him. 

“You’re quiet,” he muses.

“I guess I am,” you shrug. 

“Then I guess I like you.” 

It takes you by surprise, and you catch yourself mindlessly staring at him just a moment too late; you’re not looking ahead and you slip on a patch of ice, sending you flying downward on what probably would have been a nasty fall if your boss hadn’t caught you. One of his arms is underneath you, the other gripping on to your shoulder to keep you upright. 

“Thank you,” you say breathlessly. 

“Looks like I had to save someone on this shift after all,” he laughs as he helps you to stand on your own feet again.

He spends the rest of the walk back to the agency teasing you about your clumsiness, and you pretend to hate it, although you’re secretly enjoying the attention from Katsuki - a name he said you should call him. And when a sudden wind sends chills through your body, he pulls you into his side, happy to share his warmth with you. 

cute. says another text from Dave, who can see you both walking arm in arm when you finally make it back. 

You enter the agency to Winter Wonderland playing over the P.A. system. The overhead lights have been dimmed to a soft glow. It might even be a few degrees warmer than it was before. You throw a mean glare towards Dave, mouthing a quick what the fuck. 

“What’s happening?” you ask Katsuki, putting on your best act, not willing to tell him that your friend the security guard was trying to play wingman via nostalgic music and romantic lighting. He’s standing near the tree, looking up towards the P.A. speakers, and you shuffle towards him. 

Just as he turns towards you, there’s a red and green blur in front of your eyes. You blink and realize it’s a mistletoe that’s just fallen down from the ceiling, right in between you and Katsuki.

“How the fuck did you pull this one off?” Katsuki says loudly, looking past you. You turn, but there’s no one there. 

Then it dawns on you. 

“Do you know Dave?” you whisper, and Katsuki’s gaze snaps back to your face. His eyes move back and forth from the mistletoe to your lips. He lets out a shaky laugh, then grabs either side of your face and kisses you. 

Your fingers curl around the collar of his costume and pull him close to you, prolonging the kiss for as long as you can. When you pull away, you eye the security camera, your cheeks getting a little warm. 

“Afternoon crew is almost here,” Katsuki says, “and there’s no cameras in my office.” 

you don't understand. it's about him apologizing for everything. it's about him not expecting it to change anything. it's looking and sounding so soft and vulnerable. it's about being in the rain even though he hates it. it's about how izuku's eyes widened after he said his first name. it's about the win to save, save to win. it's about "you did nothing wrong, but you need to rest". it's about him bolting to catch him. it's about the "i get it". it's about izuku falling asleep in his arms after finally, finally feeling save after weeks of no rest. it's about-

ᴀʟᴇxᴀɴᴅʀᴇ-ɪsɪᴅᴏʀᴇ ʟᴇʀᴏʏ ᴅᴇ ʙᴀʀᴅᴇ Shell Collection. 1803. Gouache watercolor.

The way that things were so hazy when Joel was moving through the hospital searching for Ellie. It was shot out of focus, we watched his boots more than anything. The sound was muffled. He killed every single person he came across, even those who weren’t maybe necessary. It felt like a fugue state, dissociative, even.

Then the second he has Ellie in his sight, everything is clear again. When he shoots the doctor, it’s loud and in focus. He spares the nurses. He’s evaluating threats. He’s making plans. He’s cold and clinical again, the way we saw in past episodes when Ellie was in danger.

Genius

When nobody wakes you up in the morning, when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want, what do you call it, Freedom or Loneliness?

Charles Bukowski

watch your step to hell, its a long fall!

Sometimes you have to accept that some people can only be in your heart, not in your life.

Shinzo wo Sasageyo!

The space under the stairs in a London studio has been turned into a small jewel of a kitchen.

The Not So Big House - A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live, 1998